TEHRAN — Iran’s vice president for parliamentary affairs says the planned visit by President Ebrahim Raisi to Oman is “strategically important”, saying it is in line with Iran’s “good neighborliness” policy.

Speaking in a live radio show on Tuesday, Seyed Mohammad Hosseini stated that one of the priorities of the government's foreign policy is to pay attention to the neighbors and countries in the region.

“In this regard, it is natural to have economic trade and political cooperation with neighboring countries and to discuss security issues.”

Speaking about the positive results of the president's visits to neighboring countries, he said that during Raisi’s visit to Tajikistan, the issue of Iran's permanent membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was raised.

“The issue of gas swap was also raised during the visit to Turkmenistan. Following the president's visit to Qatar, the Emir of Qatar came to Iran and announced his readiness for extensive cooperation in various fields,” Hosseini added. 

According to the vice president, Oman is one of the countries that have long-standing and friendly relations with Iran. 

“In recent months, many events in particular have taken place between the two countries, and in this regard, a joint special economic committee consisted of high-ranking officials from Tehran and Muscat was held and good agreements were reached,” he noted. 

Hosseini added that following these agreements, the Omani foreign minister paid a visit to Iran, which shows the excellent relations between the two countries and the interest of both sides to address bilateral and regional issues.

“Reducing tensions in the region and issues such as the Yemen war are among the issues being discussed between the two countries,” he pointed out. 

Emphasizing the expansion of political and economic relations, Hosseini said development of cultural relations is also on the agenda because there are many cultural commonalities between the two countries.

Recently, the Tehran Times discovered that the next destination of President Raisi will be Muscat, but as of writing this article, the date of the visit is unclear.

When asked about the president’s visit to Oman and the UAE, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said these visits are certainly on the agenda. 

“Preparations for these visits are underway by the president’s office,” Khatibzadeh said on Monday.